SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures snapped a seven-session winning streak on Thursday, as weaker global economic data and escalating trade tensions surrounding top consumer China weighed on sentiment, while a softer yen lent some support to the market.

The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery was down 6.2 yen, or 1.5%, at 406.7 yen ($2.77) per kg, as of 0150 GMT. The Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed from Oct. 1-7 for China’s National Day holiday. Trading will resume on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Japan’s service sector activity expanded for the third straight month in September, but the pace slowed slightly and confidence dipped in a sign of the broader economic strains amid weakness in manufacturing, a private survey showed.

Globally, factory activity weakened in September as soft demand and economic uncertainty pointed to a tough outlook, surveys showed, keeping policymakers under pressure to shore up fragile growth.

France, Greece, Italy and Poland will vote on Friday in favour of tariffs of up to 45% on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) made in China, sources said, enough to push through the European Union’s highest profile trade measures, risking potential retaliation from Beijing.